


A Lingering Memory

by Penkindisbestspecibus



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural, Humanstuck, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-03
Updated: 2013-03-03
Packaged: 2017-12-04 04:45:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/706713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Penkindisbestspecibus/pseuds/Penkindisbestspecibus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on a prompt on Tumblr. Sollux and Karkat are exorcists, who banish spirits and help ghosts pass on. A brief encounter with a lingering memory occurs in an old house, although neither realise it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Lingering Memory

“Remind me again why I ever let you talk me into this bullshit?” Karkat Vantas was having a shitty day. This, normally, would be of no cause of concern. Karkat was always having a shitty day. What made this specific occurrence relatively special, was that he was standing in the middle of an old, dusty house, waving a torch around and holding a baton. At only a few inches over five feet, wearing a plain turtleneck and a pair of sweatpants, the dusky skinned male wasn't particularly imposing in any way with the exception of the furious snarl on that seemed permanently etched into his face. “Becauthe, deep down, Kk, you know you love me.” His companion was both taller and skinnier, a pale asian man wearing a pair of long cargo pants and a t-shirt with a long set of binary digits emblazoned on his chest. “Past me is a complete and utter fuckwit for agreeing to this stupid shit.” He grumbled lightly, eyes darting to and fro.

 

Sollux Captor, the taller male, removed a pair of 3D-glasses from his face, slowly scanning the room with heterochromatic eyes. “There. In the corner.” He gestured gently towards an unassuming, empty corner, next to a bookcase. Although Karkat could not see it, Sollux could easily make out the form of the small hunched figure, apparently drawing on the wall. At midnight. At an abandoned house. Where nobody had set foot for at least ten years.

 

Yeah, if that wasn't the ghost they were after, Sollux would eat his glasses. Karkat edged cautiously towards the corner, slowly raising his baton. It was made of pure iron, and had been inscribed with several occult symbols to boost it's power, but the real strength came from Karkat alone. Sollux wasn't entirely sure why, but the short, dark-haired male had an inbuilt ability to physically interact with ghosts and spirits – this, naturally, translated to attempting to banish them as best they could, or otherwise help them achieve peace.

 

“Can you communicate with it?” Karkat hissed in a low whisper, keeping his baton ready. Sometimes ghosts were violent. At those points the best thing Karkat could do was attempt to beat them to a pulp, and exorcise them. It was kind of odd, beating up something he couldn't see. “Hello?” Sollux tried, raising his voice slightly. The figure turned to face him, staring at him with empty blank eyes. “ _Hello._ ”

 

It was a girl. A young girl, no older than ten by the looks of it, with flowing hair, and tattered skirt. She had a small smile on her face, and seemed peaceful enough. “I'm Thollux. Thollux Captor.” He gave her a small smile in return. “What'th your name?” She cocked her head to the side just slightly, and remained silent for a few seconds. “ _... Aradia. Aradia Megido. It is nice to meet you, Thollux Captor._ ” He pulled a wry face at that, Karkat remaining cautiously but anxiously silent and still. He couldn't hear her. He decided not to comment, finding it would probably be pointless. “Can... can I athk how you died?” Sometimes Spirits found that a tad too personal. Those ones reacted badly. Aradia just smiled gently again. “ _House fire._ ” He nodded slowly.

 

“Ith... ith there thomething keeping you here, Aradia?” Karkat was fidgeting slightly. He didn't like not being able to know what was going on, but as long as Sollux kept talking calmly, he wouldn't interfere. He trusted his definitely-not-boyfriend to be able to handle himself for the most part. Sollux simply couldn't physically interact with the spirits, which was the only reason Karkat was here.

 

Aradia gave Sollux another small smile. They seemed to be her default expression. “ _... No. I am 0kay._ ” Her voice sounded particularly hollow with an odd ringing tone at 'okay', but Sollux didn't question it much. Ghosts were weird like that sometimes. “ _I merely wanted to see how an old friend was doing._ ” Sollux nodded slowly.

“And how ith your friend doing?” Aradia gave him yet another small smile, this one a tad more melancholic. “ _He seems to have moved on just fine without me. I'm glad._ ” She shrank back into the shadows slightly, her ghostly white eyes the only thing visible. “Will you be moving on then, Aradia?” It was nice to settle these things without resorting to exorcism.

“ _I suppose I will be._ ” Her eyes began to fade away until there was nothing left.

 

Back at their small apartment, Sollux allowed himself to slip into a hot bath, soothing away the day's stresses with calm, warming water. “So what was the whole deal with the ghost?” Karkat grumbled slightly, from his position between his definitely-not-boyfriend's legs. Sollux rolled his eyes, slipping into the water a tad bit more and wrapping his arms around his most-definitely-boyfriend-despite-anything-he-said-contrariwise. “Not actually too thure, Kk. Peatheful, left in peathe and moved on ath far ath I can tell.” Karkat always asked about the ghosts when they were done – he supposed it was because he had no actual idea what they were dealing with, and if their roles were switched, Sollux would probably do the same. “It wath a little girl, I think she wath ten or eleven. Thaid she died in a houthe fire.” Karkat frowned, leaning back into his still-definitely-not-boyfriend's chest, and looking up at him with dark brown eyes. “House fire? There was what, a recorded murder in the house like fifteen fucking years ago but that was it. No house fires. What the fuck was a prepubescent dead girl doing in the house then?” Sollux shrugged lightly, leaning down just a bit so he could kiss his almost-certainly-stop-denying-it-already-boyfriend's nose. “How should I know, Kk? She jutht thaid she wanted to thee her friend.” Karkat sighed with a small grumble, but nonetheless abandoned this line questioning, resigned to know that there simply wasn't anything else to learn. “... Those asswidgets are still paying us right?” Sollux rolled his eyes again.

“Yeth, Kk, the owner'th are thtill paying uth. The Houthe ith clear now, they can rent it out with a ghotht-free guarantee.” Karkat rumbled lightly, satisfied at that.

 

Neither of them noticed the small, pale brunette girl floating near the window, smiling gently. “ _It was good to see you again, Sollux._ ” With that, Aradia Megido faded away. " _And even better to see that you are happy._ "


End file.
